


Together we're whole

by Sweetanco



Series: True Mates [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/F, F/M, Homophobia, Knotting, M/M, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Armin Arlert/Marco Bott, Minor Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Mpreg, Multiple Pairings, Omegaverse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rutting, Sexism, Smut, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 10:04:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18589012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetanco/pseuds/Sweetanco
Summary: To survive.In a cruel world that could never accept him for what he was, his family had to make a tough choice to save his life. To keep him safeIn a world where all he ever wanted was to belong, Armin had to learn to hide his true self and deny his heart what it wanted most. To stay alive.In a world that was now changing and crumbling around him, Armin had to allow himself what he had denied for so long and make a choice. To keep them safe.To survive, for better or worse.





	Together we're whole

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is actually a repost of an old unfinished fic of mine with the same title. I took it down from AO3 some months ago to revamp it a little and reorganize the chapters better. I'm now posting it again with the intent of finishing up the story this time. I hope you guys enjoy the story as much as I do writing it. 
> 
> Keep an eye out for the tags as I will update them as the story moves forward. I'll put warnings on top of any chapter containing certain content I feel you guys should be warned about. Lastly, long paragraph in italics will always refer to the past in this story. 
> 
> Enjoy!!

_“I can’t... I can’t do this.” The woman looked at the man standing beside her bed as she spoke, her eyes filled with tears. “We can’t do this Johan. Please.”_

_“Helena…” Eyes filled with just as much sadness, the man shook his head. “I… We don’t have any other choice, love. You know I would have never agreed to any of this if it hadn’t been our only good option. It’s either we let him go or -”_

_“Let’s just run away then. All three of us together. Let’s go far away, somewhere they won’t be able to find him. We could hide him and -”_

_Her mate’s troubled expression made her swallow back the rest of her sentence. She was wasting time, wasn’t she? The pack was assembled outside the old sage’s house, waiting for her to announce the birth of their second-in-command first pup. Johan being the pack’s second-in command, the Alpha himself was bound to come inside at any moment now. Helena knew that even if they tried to escape, she was in no condition to shift into her wolf to run alongside her mate and their pup was too young to even attempt. They would both be burden to her mate and hinder their chance of escaping. They wouldn’t reach the pack’s territory borders before the trackers caught them and brought them back. Then they would be executed for trying to go against pack law and be used as a warning to the rest of the pack. Helena knew how merciless Ulrich, could be._

_No. Her foolish idea would only result in the death of their son, the very thing they were trying to prevent._

_As if sensing his mother’s distress, the newborn started wailing again and Helena went back to rocking him gently. As she did, she made soothing sound at the back of her throat and nudged him tenderly with her nose. She kept at it until his wails became little hiccups and finally died down again._

_“He’s our pup, our only son. Why do we have to give him away?” She sobbed as she spoke, her throat tight at the thought of being separated from her baby. “These barbaric people… How could we…?”_

_“We’re part of those barbaric people, Helena. This is our pack and their laws are the ones we’ve wrongly lived by for years. We shouldn’t have stayed here and now our son will die if we don’t do anything. We must remember that She is the one giving us a chance to protect him from them. She’s never wrong. If Armin must grow far away from us, then so be it. It’s the price we have to pay for bringing him into this screwed up world.”_

_His voice broke on those last words and he looked at the baby. Bending down, he kissed their newborn on the head and whispered words of blessing for him. His pup. Caressing the soft but very light blonde hair, so like his own, the man blinked back his own tears. He told himself that his son’s protection mattered more than anything else, including his or his mate’s grief. They had to protect him. They would protect him with the help of the Great Mother._

_“We don’t have a lot of time before the old sage goes out to make the announcement.” He looked at the old woman standing a few feet away and she nodded gravely._

_The young mother looked at her mate’s sad but determined expression and closed her eyes. She knew her mate didn’t want to let their son go, she could feel it through their bond. He was only doing what was necessary to save their child, as agreed upon weeks before. They both knew what needed to be done if they wanted to give their son a chance to live: hide him so no one could find out about his nature. The Great Mother had given them the opportunity to save him through her warnings to the Old Sage. She couldn’t let her emotions get in the way of the plan they had spent weeks to work out. She had to do this for her son’s sake._

_Resolved, Helena hugged the small body tightly to hers one last time, inhaling her son’s scent for the last time. She prayed in her heart to the Great Mother, asking Her to always protect her son. Then she handed him to the old sage, who nodded in her direction before she addressed their pup. “It is time for you to sleep, little one.” Grey Sky quickly but carefully laid the newborn down to prepare him for the incoming journey._

_As they watched the healer work, Helena felt gratitude again toward the older woman. As one of their pack elders, Grey Sky had great authority among their people. Her age, knowledge and extensive healing abilities had ensured her position as pack council member, despite being an omega wolf. She held enough power among their people that she could have had them executed the moment she got the revelation about their omega son.  She wouldn’t even need to go to the council, her words would have been enough. Instead, the old sage had chosen to warn them about their son’s fate. She had gone against pack law and consequently put her own life at risk, all because she firmly believed in Her will._

_“Never doubt Her Wisdom, pups.” Great Sky suddenly said, as if she had heard the young mother’s thought. “You youngins may believe She is a myth, but I know better. Her presence surrounds us all even if most have forgotten about Her. In the old days, The Great mother was able to talk to Her children directly. Now it’s an extremely rare occurrence. That She came to me only means that your son has her favor. He is her chosen.”_

_Her chosen one. The words both confused and terrified Helena. She couldn’t help the feeling that they held a heavier meaning than what the old sage was letting on. Contrary to Johan who had always believed in the legend of the Great Mother of all wolves, Helena had only started to believe after Grey Sky came to them, months before. Now, she had no other choice but to hold onto their old sage’s promise and her bonded mate’s faith that the wolf goddess was truly at work here._

_The preparation didn’t take long and soon, the older woman was signaling to a shadow which had stood back quietly near the door, watching with sorrow filled eyes. An old man came forth, hands held out to receive the baby and travel bag Grey Sky had was done preparing._

_“You won’t have to worry about his scent since his parents won’t be with you. The ointment I used will mask it and make him appear human. It will also make him sleep longer. I just fed him so he should be fine. The bag has enough food and clothes to last you 3 days.” The old man nodded. “Good. Remember to always keep the back of his neck covered so his mark stays hidden. You know what to do once you get far away from the trackers. Do you have more ointment for yourself?”_

_His ointment was the reason he had been able to sneak in the old house, unnoticed by the population of shifters outside. The healer nodded in turn and gave him a piece paper on which she had written the recipe for the ointment. Once they were set, Great Sky turned back toward the couple._

_“My work here is done. Now we must leave everything up to the Great Mother.”_

_Neither Helena nor her husband could swallow past the lump in their throats as they realized it was time. Their eyes met the old man’s sorrowful ones and Helena felt tears run down her cheeks again. She knew her father didn’t want to take his grandson away and had only accepted because she had pushed him into it. But he also knew it was their only chance to save an innocent life._

_“I will take care of him, Helena. I promise.” His tone was solemn, but Helena found the strength to smile back at him through her tears._

_“I know, father. I know. I’ll be fine. Take him to a safer place.”_

_The older man heart was heavy as he looked at the distraught couple. He might have been only human, but he knew being separated from their very first child right after his birth would feel unbearable to them, especially to Helena who had just delivered her baby. It all made him wish again that they didn’t have to separate them form their child._

_“I will. You take care of yourselves. And be careful around Ulrich, especially you Helena”._

_“We will.” Johan answered in her place. “Please watch over our son for us, Alexandre. Protect Armin with your life. May the Great Mother give you strength and watch over you both.”_

_The old man met his son-in-law’s serious stare and inclined his head. After a last farewell to his daughter, the old man left the room, taking with him the baby and the bag. Though they could no longer see him, all three shifters knew he would head out the same way he came in, through the trap door hidden at the back of the house which led to the underground tunnels._

_Johan held tightly onto his mate, his tears flowing freely now and mixing with hers as they waited for the soft clicking sound signaling that their son was gone. Her shoulders shook violently at the telltale sound and Johan ran his hands along her back, trying to appease the grief he could feel from her through their bond._

_“They’re going to be okay, Helena. The Great Mother will protect them both. He’s going to be safe now.” Johan swallowed past the lump in his throat and tried to put as much faith in what he was saying as possible, for both of their sake. “Think about him growing up far away from here, in a place where he can be happy.”_

_Helena sniffled as she nodded in agreement. “All that matters if that he gets to grow up to be a fine shifter. Just like you.” She smiled, looking at her mate through watery eyes. “He already looks a lot like you.”_

_“He only took his hair and eye color from me. Everything else is you.” He said as he kissed her. “We made one fine looking baby. And I’m sure he will too, when his time comes to have a family of his own.”_

_Her small laugh and nod of agreement made him relieved. She could pull through this and it was time already. He knelt and reached under the bed, taking out a small package._

_“We need to get ready now.” He swallowed the bile rising in his throat at the smell coming off the wrapped clothing inside the package. Despite the old healer warning about the unpleasant smell beforehand, they couldn’t help but shudder in disgust. It did smell like a dead body.  He wasn’t surprised by his mate’s scrunched up expression after he pushed the bundle toward her._

_“Johan …”_

_“It’s hard for you and I know. But you both must do this to give your son a chance. Ulrich won’t show any mercy if he ever finds him. “_

_The couple froze at the healer’s words and then quickly sprang to action. They took turn, rubbing the bundled cloth on their torso and faces, marking themselves with the unpleasant smell. When done the young mother held the bundle the way she would have done a baby and her mate hugged her close to him. Satisfied that they looked their part of the grieving couple huddled around their dead pup, Grey Sky went outside to announce the death, as they had planned._

_They couldn’t hear what was happening outside, the very same way the other shifters couldn’t hear what was going on inside – the healer’s house had been built with her patients’ privacy in mind. They knew what to expect though and were ready when the pack alpha came in. As Ulrich heavy presence filed the small house, Helena prayed that their distress looked convincing enough to the imposing shifter to fool him. Her tears fell again while she held the ‘dead body’ closer, her thoughts going to the son she wished she could have held longer. For a few seconds she could feel the alpha’s stare on her before he finally addressed the pack’s Beta._

_“_ _I understand that you are grieving but you know our laws as much as I do. Did he have the mark, Johan?_ _The pack needs to know what we lost.”_

_“The healer didn’t find any mark. It’s safe to assume he would have grown to take after me.” Johan told the lie with a painful expression, forcing himself to maintain eye contact with his leader. He couldn’t show pain for the loss but any other sign of hesitation on his part would have made their alpha doubt him._

_“I see. It is sad that the goddess decided to take back your pup, a son at that. Take comfort in the fact that he could have led this pack one day and be as fine a leader as you are, Johan Arlert.” Ulrich’s stare went back to Helena then, focusing on the fake body in her hands. “At least he wasn’t born an omega like his mother.”_

_Helena felt her mate’s anger at his words and chose to distract him by sobbing more openly then. Without fail, Johan was at her side, holding onto her while he whispered soft apologies in his ears. They couldn’t afford to get upset over Ulrich’s constant disdain of omega wolves. It would only make the alpha angry or suspicious when their entire plan depended on how well they could convince the imposing shifter that their son was dead._

_Johan took a deep breath before he turned toward their leader again._

_“As you say, Alpha. Grey Sky will testify that the infant body didn’t have a mark. If you would like to check too…” Johan made a move to take the dead body out of his mate’s hand, doing his best not to show any apprehension while trying to appease Helena through their bond. He had to make it seem genuine, like he didn’t fear anything if he wanted this to work. This would cement whether the alpha believed them or not. They only had to wait a few seconds before Ulrich shook his head and stopped Johan._

_“You don’t need to, Johan. I trust your word.” After staring at Helena one last time, the Alpha inclined his head in her direction and turned to leave. “I’ll let you mourn your son now.” The couple watched the alpha’s retreating and only realized they were holding their breath when he was gone._

_Grey Sky came back in and gave them a quick nod before other members of the pack followed to offer their support. As they played the grieving parents for everyone, Helena felt relieved they had been able to buy fool the Alpha and buy time for their son. Her father only needed a few hours to reach the river and find the boat. After that, the pack enforcers would have no way of knowing where they were going.  She shared a knowing look with her mate, knowing he was thinking the same thing. The longer they could hold on, the more chances they gave them. This thought wouldn’t leave their mind hours later, as they endured the council’s trials for going against pack law._

_Helena and Johan Arlert would be executed in the early hours of the next day, their last thoughts going to their son and how they were able to stall Ulrich’s search._

_Ulrich would be left furious. While the council would be in uproar over how Grey Sky treachery could tarnish the pack’s reputation if it got out, his mind wouldn’t stop churning over her dying words, the very same word the old seer had uttered to his father years before his time as an alpha._

_The end of wolf kind. The Eastbound child born from old blood. The bringer of life and death._

_After spending his time as an alpha doing everything he could to prevent the prophecy from happening, the child he needed to get rid of the most had just escaped.  An omega boy from Helena’s bloodline. He had to find the child and kill him before it was too late._

 

_\-------x-------x--------_

 

It was a beautiful day outside. Spring had come and gone, giving way to the summer and its warmer temperatures. They were only a few hours into the afternoon but the park was already crowded with people and pets alike.

The old man sat on a bench, away from the more populated area, watching the group of children sitting a few feet away. From time to time, his gaze would quickly wander around before it settled on the children again. The surroundings and scenery were no different than usual but the old man knew he could never be too prudent when it came to his grandson. They might have lived in the area for years now but this routine was important. Alexandre sighed as a small voice reminded him yet again that he wouldn’t have to always be on his guard if he took the boy and moved to some place safer that Trost.

Trost was a beautiful city, with its narrow cobblestone streets, water canals and rustic but comfortable homes. It even had schools and a small administrative area for the taller and more modern looking buildings and shops. It would have been the ideal place to live with Armin, had it not been for the fact that the city was also part of shifter territory. The NorthFang Legion was a large pack who had owned the extensive area around the city long before humans came to settle in. There was no doubt Trost existed only because the pack had given the humans permission to live on their territory, which meant that the city officials were made of both shifter and human familiars. Trost might seem full of humans unaware of the pack’s existence, but it was in fact governed and looked after by the local pack.

Alexandre had stumbled upon the town while they were heading north, in search of one of the rumored progressive pack Grey Sky had told him about. The old sage had called them ‘traditional packs where shifters are more attuned to the Great Mother teachings’. He hadn’t known what to expect beyond Grey Sky mentioning that those packs would be a good starter to keep his grandson safe. Finding Trost and consequently the NorthFang Legion had him relieved at first. The pack allowed their shifters to interact and sometimes even mate with humans. He had even been able to catch some same sex couple in the city, most times humans only but also shifters pairs.

For more prudence, the old man had decided to wait a few months before he approached the pack to request asylum for his grandson. It gave him time to really observe life in the city and realize that things weren’t as perfect as they first seemed.  For one, it seemed like same sex pairing and shifter-human pairing were confined to living in the city, instead of living with the rest of the pack. Their interactions with the rest of the pack seemed limited too, almost non-existent. But the most important thing was that he hadn’t heard a single mention of omega wolves, be it male or females, in all the time he had been there. Whether it was because the pack was keeping their existence under radar or because they didn’t exist here, it hadn’t seemed reassuring for his grandson at all. Alexandre first thought had been to leave the area altogether and search for another place. But here they were years later, still here.

As his eyes settled again on the children his grandson was playing with, Alexandre met the boy blue eyes and got a smile and big wave from him. He waved back and smiled, his heart constricting painfully in his chest. His brave little Armin. Life wasn’t easy for him here, surrounding by other shifters and having to live in hiding. Instead of having fun and enjoying his youth like children his age, Armin was forced to train constantly to suppress his wolf and block his scent. He might have only been 7 but he already understood that he had to endure the harsh training to stay alive and escape his old pack, like his parents wanted him to.

Tears welled up in the old man’s eyes as he thought of the last time he had seen his daughter alive. He knew she was along dead now, alongside her mate and the old sage. It hadn’t taken long for the news of their deaths to reach familiars circles years before. There wasn’t really time to mourn his losses when his grandson’s safety was at stake. Grey Sky and Johan had warned him against Ulrich’s tenacity and how the alpha wouldn’t stop until he got his hands on his grandson. This was another reason why he should have left the NorthFang territory after realizing they were most likely not one of the progressive packs he was looking for. And he would have done just that if not for _him._

“Hey, Armin!”

The loud greeting made Alexandre realize he had closed his eyes. He sighed as he caught the large smile and very much happy expression on his grandson’s face. Following Armin’s stare, he saw the young boy running toward him wearing the exact same happy expression on his face. Alexandre didn’t have to look around to know that he would find a few enforcers patrolling around. The boy being here only meant that the NorthFang Legion had sent their pup out to play with the humans today. Nothing unusual or worrying if it hadn’t been for the pup now sitting next to his grandson.

It only took a few minutes of watching the children before it happened, like clockwork. Very soon, the young shifter was leaning toward Armin and taking a deep breath with a pleased expression while his grandson scratched the back of his neck through the turtleneck he wore that day. As per usual, the display had his mind go at war with his heart again over his reluctance to separate Armin from _him_ , the young NorthFang pup who had taken a liking to his grandson.

Him. Eren Yeager.

The two children had become fast friends after Eren saved Armin from bullies at another park they used to go to. At first, the old man had seen no harm in letting the boys play together at the park, despite the clear fact that the older pup was also a young shifter. They had been living in the area for a few years already and none of the adult shifters had been able to detect that Armin wasn’t entirely human, the pack’s current Alpha included. He hadn’t thought a pup would have been any wiser, even when said pup was older than his grandson by two years. That was until _it_ started happening.

Gradually, Alexandre had noticed the way humans and shifters kids alike acted around the other pup. It was either with deference, obedience or fear at times. Never as a result of something the young pup did but more so because of the inexplicably imposing aura he seemed to have at times. While it was true that pups could manifest traits of their inherent status very early, Alexandre had felt something strangely different from the young Eren. The feeling was eerily similar to the way he had felt upon meeting the Eastbound pack leader for the first time. The difference though was that Ulrich Gunbar was already an adult alpha back then and the young Eren was only a young pup. The sensation had been more than enough for Alexandre to realize that the young Eren was not only an alpha in the making but possibly a higher alpha.  

Then, the questions had come. As if the young NorthFang pup status manifesting early hadn’t been enough, both him and Armin had started to ask him about each other scents.

“Does Armin use perfume? I keep asking him because he smells real good, like candy. But better than candy. Armin says he doesn’t know. But you’re his grandpa so you would know right? Does he eat a lot of sweets or something?”

“Is it normal for people’s smell to change, grandfather? Eren smells different. It’s nice. But it’s different from everyone else. I like it. But he keeps saying that I smell weird. Is it normal?”

Though he had turned their attention away with white lies each time the questions popped until the children both stopped asking, their curiosity about each other scents had alarmed him. Alexandre had promptly decided to take Armin to another park and avoid the local pack altogether, a plan that only worked for a few weeks. Somehow, the local pack started appearing in the new park again and the young shifter found his grandson again. Alexandre had been unsettled, despite Eren’s attempt at explaining that his parents had decided to send him to a different park too. Not only had the young Northfang shifter found them again but he hadn’t missed the way that Armin had suddenly perked while looking intensely in the direction the other pup would appear from minutes later.

That day marked the start of Alexandre noticing the weird behavior the children had around each other.  Like the way they seemed to know the other was around before he even appeared.  Or the way Eren would always lean in to smell his grandson and his threatening like behavior when he thought something was wrong with Armin. Or the way Armin would inevitably scratch his omega mark when Eren was close to him. They were not only affected by each other scents but also seemed to be attuned to each other. It almost sounded like they had imprinted on each other, something that couldn’t have been possible. Imprinting only happened after the mating rituals between adult partners. The ritual enhanced the bonded mates’ senses enough that they could somehow feel each other. He knew what it was like after going through the same ritual with his late wolf mate.

It should have been impossible for the boys though. They were both too young, not even 10 years old yet and the ointment should have acted as a scent blocker. It should have dulled Armin’s senses by suppressing his animal side while also blocking his scent for Eren. Yet there was no denying that they were able to smell each other and reacted strongly to each other’s scents. Worried and a tad bit intrigued, Alexandre had turned to his old books on shifter lore to find an explanation and instead came back with something that left him shaken even now.

"This way, Eren!" 

His grandson’s delighted laughter shook him out of his thoughts and made him realize he had been lost in thoughts again. He quickly glanced around to make sure everything was fine before his eyes went back to the children. They were running around, Armin grinning widely as he tugged Eren by the hand, wind rustling through his blond hair and brushing them away from his shoulder. His happy expression was mirrored on the other pup’s face, who followed him with eyes completely focused on his grandson.

Soul mating.

To say Alexandre had refused to believe what he had read would be an understatement. Yet there was no denying that it would make sense. If the pups’ wolves had been able to pick each other scent, bypassing the powerful scent blockers and their young age, then it could only meant that they pups had somehow bonded on a level that went beyond imprinting. There was no way of telling how or when it could have happened. Maybe Eren showing alpha traits so early had made him bypass the blockers and awakened Armin’s omega side. Or maybe what he had read on the soul mating legend was true and the pups’ souls had been linked together before they had even met. Alexandre didn’t know. The only certainty he had was that the two pups bonding would explain their uncanny ability to feel each other the way they already did.  

It was a scary thought to even consider in Armin’s case. Bonding for shifters sometimes meant life attachment and Armin’s secret was too big a risk. There was no telling what kind of shifter the young Eren would grow up to be and how he would react if he knew about Armin’s lineage and what it would all mean for his grandson in the long term. However worried it might make him though, he couldn’t forget how much more cheerful his grandson had gotten since he had met the other pup or how overprotective of his grandson Eren already was.  He already acted like he wouldn’t ever let anything bad happen to Armin.

Maybe fate was at work here, like his late mate used to say. Or maybe it was all the Great Mother’s work, like Grey Sky used to call Her. Mother of all wolves, Mother Fate. He hadn't forgotten how the old sage had referred to his grandson as the Great Mother's chosen one, long ago. If the one Grey Sky believed to be the mother of all wolves truly existed and had chosen to protect Armin since his birth, who was to say that whatever was happening between the him and Eren wasn’t part of her plan? He had already chosen to trust in Her judgement when he had taken his grandson from the Eastbound pack all those years before. His heart wanted to trust again that staying here and keeping Armin close to the other pup was also part of whatever the Great Mother had in mind for his grandson.

If there was a chance that Armin had a future in this city and that _fate_ had already disposed things for him here, he had to wait and leave his own fears aside. Just wait and see what happened.

 

 


End file.
